(Global Times）With the coming 50th anniversary of the moon landing, a Chinese aerospace expert speculated that China would be able to achieve its own manned lunar landing by around 2035, establishing a permanent lunar base rather than NASA's symbolic footprint of 1969.
Saturday marks the 50th anniversary of the first man on the moon, with posts to commemorate the historic moment going viral on Chinese social media platforms such as Sina Weibo.

Encouraged by China's space achievements, many posted online that lunar exploration was viable in the foreseeable future.

Among them, Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, speculated that China will be "technically ready" for a manned lunar landing by around 2035.

The space expert told the Global Times Tuesday that unlike the Apollo projects with their Cold War competition between the US and the Soviet Union, China's manned lunar landing, hopefully in the "decade between 2030 to 2040," would be conducted with clear and specific scientific research goals.

Such goals include exploring the possibility of establishing a permanent moon village or base for researchers to conduct long-term scientific projects and using the natural satellite of the Earth as an energy supply hub for deeper space exploration, Wang said.

US Vice President Mike Pence made a statement in March saying that NASA was directed to return American astronauts to the lunar surface within the next five years "by any means necessary," CNN reported.

The sudden acceleration of the US returning to the moon showed that the US side was feeling the pressure posed by Chinese space advancements in moon exploration, Chinese analysts concluded.

A bigger reason behind the hasty US plan might be that any nation including the US would know the moon might be a perfect resource base after the discovery of water ice and abundant helium-3, a clean energy that would solve the energy crisis on Earth, Wang noted.

He concluded that another reason should be the moon's position as a strategic bridgehead for future deeper space exploration.

In an interview with CBS Face the Nation on Sunday NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that "We're so far ahead of China right now, it's not even a comparison."

In reply, Wang noted that China has never chased a ranking in the space sector. Taking the Chang'e lunar probe series as an example, China has not skipped a step in the unmanned orbit-land-return while the US Apollo project jumped right onto manned landing to win its race with the Soviet Union.

Chinese space observers also expect NASA to lift its policy of excluding cooperation with China.

Cooperation between China and the US would benefit all mankind, significantly reducing the costs and risks of space projects for both sides, they said. The US should throw off its Cold War mentality, seek to cooperate rather than compete.

Although I dispute the Americans have walked on the Moon in 1969, the whole world seem to believe their lies. For this reason alone, I think it is a waste of money for China to repeat this same feat. Better to.....Instead send Chinese go to Mars.
It is that much easier to use robots to work space than human.
We could use the Moon as staging and replenishment space outposts for the manned Mars trip.
Let the robots do all the preparation works in the fuel, air and food supply chain.

About ‘ The US should throw off its Cold War mentality, seek to cooperate rather than compete.’:
Right! In the globe-village, with many nations having enough terrible weapons to destroy the Earth for one even more times, it is not wise for any government to threat others with sharp teeth! All citizens should treat each others peacefully and work together for common happiness!

Childish pure mindset can simplify your life which let you live in a light way！ Without man-made troubles you will work in high efficiency!

Why take so long 2035, better next year. Then earlier mankind can establish first space colony with apartments and condominiums. Just start off with space farming, mining and tourism, then later with factories. Solar steam boiler should be feasible to power space colony.

Kbay Post time: 2019-7-17 16:04
Although I dispute the Americans have walked on the Moon in 1969, the whole world seem to believe th ...

Markus Allen U.K. photographer, Bart Sibrel U.S. filmmaker and Randy Walsh Canada Flight instructor they have interesting material about the fake Apollo landings. You need only one photo of the 15,000 photos to see the shade of the sun on objects to know it was fake. Furthermore, 140,000 tapes are missing and NASA admit it is gone.
Hope the Chinese can do better than this.

Human lives mean nothing when the western warmongers see a bigger gain through war